‘I won the Masters after quitting football – there wasn’t as much pressure on the pitch’ | Golf | Sport
Winning the Masters is about as good as it gets for any golfer. Most professional players will tell you it’s the one they want more than any other.
Throughout its illustrious history, there have been 57 different players to have won a green jacket. The most recent, of course, being Rory McIlroy in the 2025 edition, dramatically beating Justin Rose in a nail-biting play-off.
He followed in the footsteps of golfing greats, such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods. But it’s another member of the Masters winners’ circle who enjoyed a lesser-known career in a completely different sport.
Introducing Sergio Garcia: the Team Europe Ryder Cup legend and winner of the 2017 Masters. Garcia might be spending the latter part of his career in LIV Golf, but during his time with the PGA, the Spaniard was one of the most revered players on Tour.
His 2017 triumph brought an end to an agonising wait for a major title, given Garcia had finished second in both the PGA Championship and The Open on four different occasions. But when he eventually ended that wait, Garcia was actually the president and chairman of his hometown football club, CF Borriol.
Better still, Garcia even took to the pitch on occasion for the side who were competing in the fourth tier of Spanish football at the time. Opening up on his sporting love affair, Garcia told CNN in 2013: “It’s good fun and whenever I’m around I get to practice with them a little bit and play a little bit here and there. This season, I’ve played probably five games, so not a lot, but I enjoy.
“As any good Spaniard will tell you, we love football. Sport in general in Spain has been great for the last 10 years or so, but football has been great with the Euro Cups and the World Cup.”
Garcia has made his love of La Liga giants Real Madrid clear on several occasions, but his connection with Borriol dates back to 2003. Pedro Fernandez, the then vice president, said: “We put together a working group headed by Sergio, as president, his brother Victor and other friends. We make all the management decisions as it relates to the team.
“Sergio has done a tremendous job in the past seven years to create a football academy for Borriol’s young boys and girls. CF Borriol’s goal is to expand the academy and hopefully promote players from the junior teams to the first team.”
His playing debut came in 2010, when Garcia swapped his golf shoes for a pair of football boots. And when quizzed on the differences between the two sports, Garcia admitted he feels less pressure on the football pitch.
The Green Jacket holder said: “Playing football is not as much pressure because you don’t have that much time to think … everything is quicker, faster and you are moving all the time. I have always enjoyed being part of a team and sharing things with your teammates.”
Perhaps that explains why he made the decision to leave the PGA Tour for LIV then?
